Created by producer David Dortort, the first ever color series, Bonanza, premiered on Saturday, September 12, 1959. The show started with little recognition and eventually was moved to a new Sunday night time slot. The ser... more »ies then caught fire and became one of television's top rated shows through most of the mid sixties. Its heroes were the members of the Cartwright clan, owners of The Ponderosa, the largest ranch in Nevada. Patriarchal bible-quoting Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) had three sons: serious minded Adam (Pernell Roberts), cheerfully oafish Hoss (Dan Blocker) and impulsive "Little Joe" (Michael Landon). Bonanza was a family show in more ways than one. The program was not a traditional shoot-em-up western, it relied more on the relationships of the four principal actors and the people they came in contact with than it did on violence. The adventures of these men, individually and collectively, made up the continuing saga of Bonanza. For three seasons in a row, 1964-1967, it was the number one show on the air. After fourteen and a half years and 431 episodes, Bonanza finished second only to Gunsmoke as the longest running and most successful western in the history of television.« less